….Home and away since the lockout the Canadiens are 10-3-2 vs. New Jersey. Six of the 15 games were decided in OT or shootout.

….Since the 2012 lockout the Canadiens have a home record of 5-1-1 record vs. the Devils.

….Since Martin Brodeur left the Devils after the 2014 season the Canadiens are 3-0-1 vs. the Devils at the Bell Centre. In the 17 games prior to that the Devils were 13-3-1 and outscored 48-30. Brodeur was in all 17 games.

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About the Canadiens –

….If 95 points becomes the Eastern Conference playoff cutoff point the Canadiens need to play .637% hockey the rest of the season.

….65 points in their final 51 games roughly translates to a record of 32-18-1. – 14 wins over .500.

…..sportsclubstats.com now list the Canadiens chances of earning a berth in the playoffs at 11.3%. Only Edmonton, Detroit, Ottawa, Buffalo and Arizona are rated by them to have a lesser chance at a playoff berth.

….This game completes a stretch of 14 of 17 games home games. So far they are 7-6-3 overall and 6-5-2 in the home game part of that stretch.

….In the last 16 overall games the Canadiens have had a five game win streak, plus four-game and three-game losing streaks.

….The Canadiens will play 28 of their final season games on the road – 23 at home. On the road the Canadiens are already 5-7-1.

….Max Pacioretty has one goal and 4 assists in his last 13 games. In the 13 games, he has a total of 38 shots on goal, an average of 2.92 per game. In his last ten games he’s averaged 2.5 shots per game.

,,,,In his five games with the Canadiens Daniel Carr has 2 goals, 5 assist.s and is plus-5 despite average ice time of 11:42 He has at least a point in each of his five games.

….Over their five games together, the Froese/Deslauriers/Carr line has combined for 3 goals and 12 assists.

….Deslauriers has registered 23 hits in his last three games and a team-high 50 in the twelve game since his recall November 15th. (4.16 per game).

….After giving up four goals in 22:24 Saturday against Edmonton, Carey Price has a 2.30 GAA and .928 save% in eight starts since returning from injury.

….This will be Price‘s ninth consecutive start, most since he started eleven in a row three years ago (Dec. 1 to 29th 2014).

….Price ranks 56th in the league in both save% (.899) and goals against average (3.16)

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About the Devils–

….The Devils have a 7-1-2 record vs. the Atlantic Division this season.

….New Jersey are 10-4-2 on the road this season. Their 22 road points tie them for first in the NHL with St. Louis.

….The Devils have 15 American-born players on their roster, most in the NHL. Canada is second with five.

….The first is the only period in which New Jersey has outscored opponents (28-24). They are minus-1 in each of the second and third periods. On average they have also been outshot in every period this season.

….The Devils have one power play goal in their last five games 1-13. On the penalty-kill they are 30 of 33 over their last ten games 90.9%.

….Opponents have out-shot the Devils in 21 of 30 games this season.

….In one-goal games the Devils are 10-1-4 this season.

….New Jersey is undefeated in regulation when leading after two periods (12-0-1). Since the start of last season the Devils are 31-0-9 when leading after 40 minutes.

….Taylor Hall suffered an injury after a knee-on-knee collision with Kings defenseman Kurtis MacDermid Tuesday night and joins Kyle Palmieri on the injury list. Palmieri has missed 11 games with a broken ankle.

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Goaltending –

….In 19 starts this season Carey Price has an 8-9-2 with a 3.16GAA and an .899 save%.

….Cory Schneider has started 22 games with a record of 12-6-3 with a 2.64GAA and .920 save%.

That’s the word most often used to describe the 2017-2018 edition of the Canadiens.

A better word might be “mediocre”. And if a team is mediocre at best, odds of making the playoffs are less than 50-50.

This was a stretch of the season when the Canadiens were supposed to make hay.

Thirteen of sixteen games at home and for a percentage of them all they did was mess the bed. Through the sixteen games their record was 7-6-3. That is the real definition of mediocre.

Their five game winning streak brought the Canadiens to a game over .500 for the first time since the season opener but then they went straight back in the tank, dropping three in a row at the Bell Centre, the last two against rookie goaltenders.

After they play New Jersey Thursday at home this streaky, mediocre team heads out on a seven game road trip which includes the always disastrous Western Canadian swing and a game at Tampa. Fans can legitimately worry that they will ever see their team over .500 again this season.

THE BAD CAREY

Carey Price won only three of his first eleven starts this season. When he went on injury reserve his save percentage was .877. During the time he was out, he made some equipment changes, most notably he went back to the skates he used last year. the changes seemed to work. Price was the Canadiens most influential player for those five consecutive wins. Against Edmonton it was back to the bad-old-Carey. He simply wasn’t mentally prepared to play this game. Four goals on 14 shots before he was replaced by Antti Niemi. All four goals came on shots that should have been easily handled. His movement in the crease was slow and his puck handling which was so noticeable in the game against Calgary, was poor especially on the giveaway that led to the winning goal.

FEELING THE PAIN

Something is bothering Shea Weber. Probably the same thing that put him on injury reserve for six games. We can only speculate but, by he way his mobility has decreased, one could make an argument it’s a knee issue. Where he normally stands up and keeps the gap at the blueline, since he came back he has been compensating for his lack of mobility by backing off the line givng too much room for attacking forwards. Weber was on the ice for the first three Edmonton goals. His partner Jordie Benn is nobody’s description of a top pairing defenseman. With Weber havng his own problems, Benn’s limitations were exposed by Edmonton’s speed.

THE ROCKET LINE

The last three games, the fourth line has been the Canadiens best. You know that the team is in a world of trouble when the fourth line is carrying the team. Just over three weeks ago Byron Froese, Nicolas Deslauriers and Daniel Carr were all playing for the Laval Rocket. While there have been spotty moments from the other forwards, this line has been excellent every time they’ve been put on the ice. In the five games that Carr has been part of the line they have combined for 4 goals and 12 assists. Deslauriers is plus-7, Carr plus-5 and Froese plus-3. Carr has 7 points in his five games.

If you could have named a Canadiens star in a game like this, I would have had Carr at the top of my list.

PRODUCTION VOID

And what about Max Pacioretty?

His first and only shot on goal in the game came at 12.38 of the third period with the Oilers leading 6-1. He only attempted three shots the whole night.- one missed and the other was blocked. Pacioretty tells us he’s tinkering with his game which reminds me of Tiger Woods who, at the top of his career, started to fiddle with his golf swing and watched his career collapse. Pacioretty has one goal his last 13 games and at his current pace would finish the season with 21 goals and 46 points.

ALSO WORTH MENTIONING

….For the eleventh time this season the Canadiens gave up two goals in the span of less than a minute – Edmonton’s 5th and 6th goals. It nearly happened twice in the game. In the first period Cammalleri scored and 34 seconds later Puljujarvi hit the crossbar. Edmonton’s third goal came at 1.11 of the second period. Their fourth goal was scored 1:13 later.

….Count the ways the Canadiens were bad in this game. Goaltending – poor. Shots on goal – 40-24 Edmonton. Special teams – outscored 2-1. Faceoffs – 40%. Can it get any worse?

MOVING ON

The Canadiens get four days off before they face the Devils Thursday. Presumably they’ll be trying to sort out their problems between now and then. With this group it becomes a question of where to start.. After the Devils they hit the road and won’t return to the Bell Centre until the second of January. The road trip starts in Ottawa and then moves west to Vancouver, Calgary and Edmonton. And we know how that usually works out.

….Brandon Davidson, who was claimed from the Canadiens on waivers last Sunday will make his Edmonton debut on the Oilers third defense pairing.

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Head-to-Head –

….In the eight overall meetings since the 2012 lockout the Canadiens are 3-3-2 vs. Edmonton.

….At the Bell Centre the Canadiens are 1-1-2 vs. the Oilers since the lockout.

….The Oilers have collected at least a point in nine of the last ten visits to the Bell Centre (5-1-4).

….Over the last 17 seasons dating back to Dec. 30, 2000 Edmonton has a 16-6-3 overall record against the Canadiens.

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About the Canadiens –

….The Canadiens have 30 points in 30 games this season. After 30 games last season they had 42 points (19-7-4)

….The Canadiens have won only 3 of 15 games against Western Conference teams this season (3-10-2). they are 1-5-1 vs. the Pacific Division.

….Over the Canadiens last seven games the Canadiens are 5-1-2. Since their 1-6-1 start to the season the Canadiens have climbed back to .500 for the season with a 12-7-3 record.

….Over the last seven games the Canadiens penalty killers have allowed two goals in 22 times shorthanded – 90.9%.

….Carey Price will start in the Canadiens eighth straight game. The last time he started eight straight was part of eleven in a row Dec 1 to Dec. 29th 2014.

….Max Pacioretty has one goal in his last 12 games along with four assists. In 30 games he has 8 goals and 17 points which would project to a 21 goal and 46 point season.

….Nicolas Deslauriers has recorded 16 hits his last two games and a team-high 43 in the eleven games since his recall on Nov. 15th.

….Daniel Carr has six points and is plus-4 in his four games since re-joining the team from Laval.

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About the Oilers –

….This is the first of two in 24 hours for the Oilers. They will play in Toronto Sunday. They are 5-10-2 vs. Eastern Conference teams and 2-4-0 vs. the Atlantic Division this season.

….The Oilers have played one game over the last week, a 4-2 home ice loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.

….After 28 games last season the Oilers were 14-10-4 for 32 points: this year 11-15-2. and 24 points. At this point they are six points out of the last Western wildcard berth with five teams to overhaul.

….Over their last seven games the Oilers have scored 27 goals including six against Detroit and seven last Saturday vs. Calgary.

….The Oilers special teams have had a difficult season. They have given up more power play goals than any other team and they have scored only 12 power play goals; only Columbus (7) and Buffalo (10) have scored fewer. Their special teams differential is minus-14.

….Edmonton’s power play is 0-for-16 over the last eight games.

….At home Edmonton’s power play is operating at 59.5% – on the road 82.7%.

….The Oilers have had only 74 powerplays this season, fewest in the league.

….Only two teams have given up more goals than the Oilers this season – 3.35 per game and only one has a worse save percentage at .891.

….The Oilers have given up the game”s first goal in 18 of 28 games. In those games their record is 5-12-1. when scoring first they’re 6-3-1.

….The Oilers claimed two off the waiver wire this week – from the Canadiens defenseman Brandon Davidson and from Washington left wing Nathan Walker. Walker became the first Australian to play in an NHL game against the Canadiens Oct. 7th . He scored his first and only goal in that game.

….Leon Draisaitl is one assist away from the 100th of his career. None of his 20 points this season have come on the power play.

….Milan Lucic has eight points in his last eight games. He was moved to the first line with Connor McDavid six games ago.

….Zach Kassian has five points in his last five games. He had four points in his first 23 this season.

….With goaltender Cam Talbot out with an injury, Laurent Brossoit has started the last three Edmotnon games allowing 13 goals. Brossoit led the Edmonton Oil Kings to a WHL Championship and a berth in the 2012 Memorial Cup.

….The Oilers acquired Ryan Strome from the Islanders in return for Jordan Eberle. Strome has 11 points in 28 games for the Oilers. Eberle with 12 goals and 21 points for the islanders.

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Goaltending –

….In 18 starts this season Carey Price has a record of 8-8-2 record with 2 shutouts, a .904 save% and 3.00GAA.

….In his seven starts since returning from injury-reserve Price has allowed 13 goals for a GAA of 1.85 and a save% of .941 and one shutout.

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….Laurent Brossoit has a season record of 1-5-1 with a 3.80GAA and a save percentage of .872.

]]>http://intentionaloffside.com/?feed=rss2&p=45309045309GOOD GAME; BAD RESULT – Calgary-3 Canadiens-2 (Overtime) Dec. 7, 2017http://intentionaloffside.com/?p=45298
http://intentionaloffside.com/?p=45298#commentsFri, 08 Dec 2017 05:17:59 +0000http://intentionaloffside.com/?p=45298A large segment of the Montreal fan base will beg to differ but I thought that the Canadiens and Flames put on a pretty good show Thursday night at the Bell Centre.

In every statistical department this was really close game.

The final shots on goal were 35-35. Dangerous scoring chances favoured Calgary 9-8. We can quibble about the 2-2 goal which was reviewed twice before being awarded to Calgary.

I’m sure there will be much discussion around water coolers about the players Claude Julien put on the ice for the overtime. There’ll also be talk about Alex Galchenyuk’s 9:18 ice time as well as the fact the Canadiens couldn’t dominate a team that was playing it’s second game in 24-hours and third game in four nights . Still, the game had more than a few moments.

In the old days, this game would have wound up in a well-deserved tie and each team would have been happy to leave with a point. But then was then. Now we have overtime and loser’s points, one of which the Canadiens collected at the end of the night.

FOURTH LINERS –

The thing that stood out for me in this game was the work of the Canadiens fourth line.

Who predicted that when Marc Bergevin decided to bring up first Nicolas Deslauriers and then Byron Froese and Daniel Carr.

Nobody is going to give the line a lot of points for elegance and it would be ridiculous to expect them to carry the team offensively but they have contributed.

Daniel Carr scored the Canadiens first goal with his linemates drawing the assists. That’s six points in four games since he was called up, which makes one wonder how long he’ll be a fourth liner.

ENIGMATIC

Max Pacioretty tells us that he’s not hurt. He says he’s going through some form of hockey self analysis and re-examination and that’s why he has just one goal in his last twelve games. What ever adjustments he’s making aren’t showing up on the scoreboard.

Pacioretty did send a really nice backhand pass in front of the net for Danault on the Canadiens second goal. But that’s about all I saw of him on the night.

Julien points out he contributes in other ways, to which I wholeheartedly agree but he’s paid to be a goalscorer and it ain’t happening. And he over committed in the Calgary end leading to what turned out to be a 3-on-1 break and the game winning goal.

THE THIRD DEFENSEMAN

I have no statistic on hand as to how many times Carey Price handled the puck in this game. It was obvious early that the Flames game plan was to dump the puck deep into the Canadien end and then use their size to win the deep corner battles. Time and again Price was first on the puck and ready to outlet it and start the transition.

He wasn’t particularly overworked in the game. I thought his best save came with 30 seconds left in the second period when Sam Bennett had him cold from 15 feet. It was the Flames only major scoring chance in the period. He made two stops before Monahan banked the puck off him on the first goal and the second goal had to be reviewed twice before it was allowed.

THE DOGHOUSE –

….I never thought I would see the day when I would rate Charles Hudon as a better defensive player than Alex Galchenyuk. But it’s true. Hudon worked hard throughout the game at both ends of the ice while Glancheyuk’s lack of effort defensively, especially along the boards, caused Julien to limit him to twelve shifts and 9:18, the fewest minutes of anyone on the Canadiens, defenseman or forward. He also didn’t see a second in the overtime where he usually excels.

ALSO WORTH MENTIONING

….The Canadiens penalty killers had another very good night killing off all four Calgary opportunities including that 1:01 five-on-three advantage midway through the third period. Over the last seven games the penalty killers have allowed two goals in the last 19 times shorthanded.

….Rough night in the faceoff circle for everyone except Tomas Plekanec who won 13 of 22. The others won only 35%.

….Brendan Gallagher was his usual self. He led the Canadiens with five shots. Plekanec was next with 4.

….Nicolas Deslauriers led both teams with six hits.

MOVING ON

With their loser point and Boston win, the Canadiens are tied with the Bruins for third in the Atlantic Division but the Bruins have those four games in hand. It’s all uphill until the New Year. The Canadiens have a game against Edmonton Saturday night and New Jersey Thursday to close out the homestand. Then it’s seven in a row on the road.

….Canadiens centre Jonathan Drouin will miss his fourth consecutive game and second because of a virus.

….Jakub Jerabek replaces Victor Mete on the third defense pairing.

….Calgary RW Jaromir Jagr will be gametime decisions.

….LW Matthew Tkaczuk suspended one game for spearing incident in Toronto.

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Head-to-Head –

….The Canadiens have lost 22 of the last 30 meetings with the Flames.

….Over the last 21 games in the series the home team has won 15 times.

….Since the lockout the Flames and Canadiens have met eight times. The Canadiens are 4-4-0 in those games including 2-2-0 at the Bell Centre.

….Since the 2009-10 season the Flames are 4-2-1 at the Bell Centre.

….David Rittich will the the ninth different Calgary goaltender to face the Canadiens in the In the last ten games including Miikka Kiprusoff, Joey MacDonald,Reto Berra, Jonas Hiller,Joni Ortio,Niklas Backstrom, Brian Elliot and Chad Johnson.

….In 15 games vs. the Flames Max Pacioretty has 3 goals, 3 assists and is minus-9.

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About the Canadiens –

….Over their last seven games the Canadiens have a 5-1-1 record. Since November 4th the Canadiens are 9-5-2 and since their 1-6-1 season start they five games over .500 at 12-7-2.

….Over the last 15 games Canadiens penalty killers have allowed 7 goals on 46 times shorthanded – and 84.7% success rate. Through the season’s first 14 games the Canadiens successfully killed only 71.4% of opposition penalties (14/47) and were ranked 29th in the league. Canadiens penalty killers now rank 20th.

….Carey Price will make his 7th consecutive start . In his six starts since returning from injury Price is 5-1-0 with a 1.66GAA and .946 save%.

….Max Pacioretty has one goal in his last 11 games and eight in 29 games this season. After 29 games last season Pacioretty had ten goals including a four goal night against Colorado (0.34 average per game). In his final 53 games he scored 25 (0.47 per game.)

….In the three games since his recall from Laval Daniel Carr has 1 goal, 4 assists in 34:43 icetime.

….Shea Weber has three points in the two games since he returned from the injury list (2g, 1a).

….Tomas Plekanec has five points in his last five games – all assists.

….Andrew Shaw, whose two faceoff wins led directly to goals by Weber Tuesday, leads the Canadiens in faceoff win % at 55.5% (91/164). Tomas Plekanec is second at 53.5% (273/510) and Phillip Danault at 53.2%. (219/412).

….Jordie Benn has scored goals in back-to-back games for the first time in his career and has now equaled his personal best of 4 in a season, set last season in 71 games.

….Paul Byron played in 130 games over four seasons for Calgary with 16 goals (0.12 per game). In 172 games with the Canadiens he has 42 goals (0.24 per game)

….Jeff Petry needs two assists to reach a career 100.

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About the Flames –

….This is the Flames second game in 24 hours and their third in four nights. They lost at home to Philadelphia 5-2 Monday and were edged 2-1 in a shootout at Toronto Wednesday.

….The Flames have won only 7 of their last 22 second games of back-to-back.

….The Flames have earned at least a point in five of their last six games on the road (3-2-1).

….Against Toronto the Flames recorded a season-high 48 shots on goal.

….This is the fourth set of back-to-back games for the Flames. They have split the other three and have won two of the three ‘second games’.

….Calgary has won only two of it’s last eight games (2-4-2). In the eight game stretch they have given up 26 goals, an average of 3.2 per game.

….Johnny Gaudreau is third in the NHL scoring race with 36 points in 27 games (12g, 24a). Only Tampa’s Nikita Kucherov (40) and Stephen Stamkos (38) are ahead of him. Gaudreau has points in only one of his last 6 games (1g, 1a).

…Gaudreau has points on 45.5% of the Flames goals this season (36 pts. on 79 goals) the highest percentage in the league.

….Sam Bennett has 2 goals, 4 assists over his last five games.

….Five of SeanMonahan‘s team leading 15 goals have been game-winners. Last season he totaled seven.

….Micheal Ferland played in his 200th career game Wednesday in Toronto, Curtis Lazar will play his 200th vs. the Canadiens.

….Calgary has killed off 12 of the last 13 penalties over the last five gmes and 25 of 28 over the last ten (89.2%).

….Mike Smith will reach 500 career games in his next appearance.

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Goaltending –

….Carey Price is 8-8-1 in 17 appearances this season with a .903 save% and 3.00GAA.

….Career vs. the Flames Price has a 4-5-0 record with a 2.76GAA and a .909 save%.

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….David Rittich has been in two Calgary games with a 1-1-0 with a 3.04GAA and .875 save%.

….Rittich was recalled from Stockton/AHL on Nov. 24th at the same time as Eddie Lack was re-assigned.

….Mike Smith has a career 4-2-4 record vs. the Canadiens with a 2.32GAA and a .926save%.

http://intentionaloffside.com/?feed=rss2&p=45268045268QUICK KILLING – St. Louis-4 Canadiens-3 (Dec. 5, 2017)http://intentionaloffside.com/?p=45251
http://intentionaloffside.com/?p=45251#commentsWed, 06 Dec 2017 05:02:31 +0000http://intentionaloffside.com/?p=45251It seems to be embedded in the genetics of this version of the Canadiens to allow one goal and then immediately give up another one.

Against the Blues they gave up two in seven seconds and it almost became three goals in 1:02 when Colton Parayko took a bad David Schlemko pass and hit the post behind Carey Price.

The talking point after the game was how the Canadiens battled back to tie the game, but the reality is, that seven second breakdown cost them the game.

It was the tenth time this season they’ve allowed two in less than a minute, which means they’ve done it once in every three games. That is not good.

SLOW FADE –

On the scoreboard, the Canadiens lost this game by a goal. In reality the Canadiens had a hard time against the bigger-stronger Blues.

They started well enough but things deteriorated through the late stages of the first and especially the second period where the Corsi numbers told the whole story. In that period the Blues had the puck in the Canadiens end for almost two thirds of the period – 62%. They got those two quick goals to go ahead 3-1 which is a commanding NHL lead these days.

INSPIRATION

We know how Carey Price can change the character of a game. With the Canadiens trailing 3-2 Price made brilliant saves on first Robert Bortuzzo and then Vladimir Sobotka in the 5th minute of the third period. Shots on goal at that point favoured St. Louis 26-14.

Inspired by Price the Canadiens outshot the Blues 11-4 through the final 15 minutes, and got the tieing goal before the fluke goal off Schlemko’s skate ended whatever comeback hopes they had.

WASTED PERFORMANCE

Shea Weber singlehandedly got the Canadiens back in the game. Weber used a quick wrister to beat Jake Allen to make it 3-1 late in the second period and in the third launched a slapper that curved around Allen to tie it.

Weber led both teams with six shots on goal. He played with Jordie Benn until late in the second period when Claude Julien moved Schlemko up to play with him. Schlemko was paired with Weber for both of his goals.

UNSUNG

Julien likes to use Andrew Shaw on right side faceoffs. He won 6 of 8 against the Blues including clean offensive zone wins against Paul Stastny and Kyle Brodziak that teed up Weber for his two goals. Shaw leads both Tomas Plekanec and Phillip Danault with a 55.5% win percentage.

ALSO WORTH MENTIONING

….The Canadiens always have problems with the size of Western Conference teams. They were forced into 28 giveaways to only 8 for the Blues. However, the Canadiens outhit the Blues 42-31 thanks mostly to Nicolas Deslaurier who is proving to be a big contributor on the fourth line. Deslaurier registered 10 hits. Remarkably he stays out of the penalty box despite the robust nature of his game.

….Brendan Gallagher had a rough first two periods and found himself on the bench after he made a half-hearted backchecking effort on Scotty Upshall who scored the first of those two quick goals in the second period. On his next shift he took a penalty and Julien sat him down for most of the final 15 minutes of the period. Gallagher redeemed himself somewhat in the third period.

MOVING ON

The Canadiens remain in third place in the Atlantic Divison and Boston has those four games in hand back. The home stand continues Calgary in Montreal on Thursday and Edmonton on Saturday. They’ll wrap it up next week against New Jersey before they head out on their annual seven game holiday road trip that will take them through to the New Year.

Lineup Changes – No changes to Canadiens lineup (see below). Jonathan Drouin remains out of the lineup along with Lehkonen, Hemsky, Montoya and Scherbak.

Carey Price in goal for 6th straight game vs. Jake Allen.

Head-to-Head –

….This is only the second Bell Centre meeting between the teams since Oct. 20 2015.

….Over the last three seasons the Canadiens have an overall 3-1-2 record vs. St. Louis outscoring them 19-14. Prior to that the Blues beat the Canadiens five times in a row and were 7-0-1 over eight.

….Over the last ten games the Canadiens have killed all 32 Blues power plays (0/32).

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About the Canadiens –

…..With Boston’s 5-3 loss at Nashville Monday night,, the Bruins remained in fourth place in the Atlantic Division a point behind the Canadiens. They still hold three games in hand.

….The Canadiens have won five in a row during which they have outscored opponents 24-6. Over their win streak the Canadiens power play has operated at 38.5% (5/13)their penalty killing 88.7% (2/15).

….After 23 games the Canadiens ranked second last in the league in goals -scored with 53 2.30 per game. In the five game winning streak the Canadiens have 24 goals – 4.8 per game and their offense has risen from 30th to 19th in the league.

….During the five game win streak, 13 different players have scored goals. Brendan Gallagher and Paul Byron have four each. Eleven players have at least four points in the five games – Alex Galchenyuk has 8, Byron-6, Gallagher with 5. Eight others with four.

….Byron has scored three goals on four shots vs. Detroit Thursday. He now has nine goals on 45 shots this season, a scoring percentage of 20.0%.

….The Canadiens have two 10-goal games over the last two seasons (vs. Colorado last December). Over the last ten seasons there have been a total of only seven games of ten or more goals.

….The Canadiens have scored 16 goals over a two game span for the first time in 27 years when they scored 17 over two games Feb 24th and 25th 1990 (11-1 Pittsburgh and 6-5 in OT vs. St. Louis). …..Historical note: Between Feb 10 and Feb 25 1990 the Canadiens scored 55 goals in 8 games including 10 against Vancouver as well as the 11 vs. Pittsburgh). Stephane Richer scored 8 of his career high 51 goals during the streak.

…..Carey Price has been in goal for all five games during the streak with a 1.20GAA, .962save% and one shutout.

….David Schlemko and Victor Mete have been paired for the last two games. They have been on-ice for 9 of the 16 total goals scored by the Canadiens in the two games. Five-on-five in the two games vs. Detroit Schlemko was plus-7; Mete plus-6.

….In two games since his recall, from Laval Daniel Carr has one goal, 3 assists in a total of 22:11 ice time and 33 fourth-line shifts.

e .

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About the Blues –

….The Blues opened their season with a 13-3-1 record. In the ten games since they are 4-5-1. They have won one of their last five and are now on a three game losing streak.

….During their three game losing streak the Blues have scored four goals; two by fourth liner Kyle Brodziak. The other two came from Patrik Berglund, both on the power play.

….Berglund missed the season’s first 24 games after shoulder surgery.

….Berglund registered a hattrick vs. the Canadiens in the Blues 4-2 win at the Bell Centre in February. He’s the second member of the Blues to record a hattrick in Montreal. On Feb. 25, 1990 Brett Hull in a 6-5 OT loss at the Forum.

….Jaden Schwartz leads the Blues with 32 points (13g, 19a). in 26 games. He shares the league lead in plus/minus – plus-19 with teammate Alex Pietrangelo.

….Pietrangelo leads NHL defensemen with 13 goals. He is also third among defensemen with 20 points..

….Over 14 games between Oct 21st and Nov. 24th Schenn racked up 24 points – 8 goals, 16 assists. Over the last five games he has failed to register a point. Overall Schenn has 30 points in 26 games (10g, 20a).

….Schwartz has no points his last three games.

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Goaltending –

….Carey Price’s season record is now 8-7-1 with a 2.94GAA and .905 save percentage.

….In five games Price’s goals against average has gone down from 3.77 to 2.94 while his save percentage has risen to .904 from .877.

….Since the 2012 lockout Jake Allen is 1-2-0 at the Bell Centre. Overall he is 2-3-0 vs. Montreal -3.16GAA and .893save%.

On Thursday in Detroit the Canadiens got two goals in 33 seconds to come from behind to take a 2-1 lead and went on to score five in a row.

Saturday night the first two goals were scored 32 seconds apart and the piled on eight in a row before the Wings ended Carey Price’s shutout bid.

In the 10-1 beatdown, 15 of the 18 Canadiens skaters earned at least a point. Five of them had three points or more. Alex Galchenyuk and Jacob de la Rose each recorded their first career four point games.

Paul Byron had his first career hattrick.

Defenseman David Schlemko and Victor Mete were each plus-5 for the first time in their careers.

And Brendan Gallgher scored his 100th career goal.

WHAT’S GOING ON

A lot of credit for the Canadiens turning a four game losing streak into a five game winning streak naturally goes to the return of Carey Price. But after a brilliant first period in Detroit Thursday, the Canadiens skaters took over and Price hardly saw the puck for the last five periods. Or perhaps better put, he had a clean view of almost every shot Detroit put on him this week. That is an indication of a team that, while probably inspired by the return of it’s goaltender, has also re-discovered it’s own mojo. Over the five game win streak they’ve outscored their opposition 24-6.

MAN OF THE MATCH

Paul Byron is famous for his efficiency. He took four shots on goal. Three of them wound up in the back of the net.

Byron has a total of nine goals on 45 shots this season, meaning he is scoring on 20 percent of his shots. He also has more goals than Max Pacioretty’s eight and the Captain has already recorded 117 shots.

ROLE CHANGE

Jacob de la Rose appeared to be pigeonholed as a fourth liner with little hope making any kind of offensive contribution. It’s why almost all were surprised, or maybe the better word is shocked that Claude Julien would make him Jonathan Drouin’s replacement on the top line. With the leash taken away, de la Rose responded with as assist on Galchenyuk’s winning goal Thursday and added a goal and two assists Saturday. The de la Rose/Galchenyuk/Byron line combined fo 4 goals and 10 points Saturday night – five goals and 12 points over two.

ALL IN

Even the Canadiens fourth line scored two goals. For what it’s worth Nicolas Deslaurier’s game winning goal was thanks to some hard work along the boards from linemates Daniel Carr and Byron Froese.

Carr with a goal and two assists and Froese had two assistss. Like everything else in this game, an unexpectedly productive night.

THE BLUELINE

David Schlemko is plus-7 in only three games with the Canadiens. He was paired with Victor Mete who, along with Schlemko was was plus-5. Mete led both teams with 6 blocked shots in 16:58 ice time.

The Petry/Alzner pairing was right up to it’s recent high standard.

I thought Shea Weber showed a little rust early in the game after missing those six games, but still no real issues alongside Jordie Benn.

MOVING ON

Next up, the St. Louis Blues on Tuesday followed by Calgary and Edmonton on Thursday and Saturday. The win jumped the Canadiens back into third place in the Atlantic Division a point ahead of Boston. The Bruins still have four games in hand.

ON THIS DAY

It was 22 years ago to the day that the Red Wings came into Montreal and scored 11 goals on the Canadiens. Nine of those goals on Patrick Roy who never played a game for the team again.

This was the Canadiens 28th game of the season. In their 28th game last season the Canadiens defeated the Colorado Avalanche 10-1 at the Bell Centre with Max Pacioretty scoring four goals.

….Since the 2012 lockout the Canadiens are 6-0-2 vs. Detroit at the Bell Centre. The Canadiens were 2-2 in the four overtime games.

….The last time Detroit won a game in regulation time at Montreal was 4-1 on Dec. 4, 2007. Dominek Hasek topped 17 of 18 shots. Since then the Canadiens are 7-0-3 vs. them.

….Overall the Canadiens are 4-1-1 in the last six meetings between the teams and since the lockout overall in 18 games the Canadiens are 12-4-2.

….Over his last ten starts against Detroit Carey Price is 9-1-0 with a 1.69GAA, 939save% and two shutouts.

…. Petr Mrazek will get the start for the Wings partly because Jimmy Howard has, over the last three-plus seasons, won only one of his last eight starts against the Canadiens including losses in his last four appearances at the Bell Centre,

….Mrazek has a career record of 2-1-2 vs. the Canadiens. He is 0-2-0 in three career appearances and two starts at the Bell Centre. (Oct 17, 2015. Mrazek stopped 37 of 41 shots in a 4-1 loss. It was his second career start. …. March 29, 2017 Mrazek was pulled in the first period after allowing 2 goals on seven shots. Canadiens won 4-3. ….Nov.12 last season he replaced Howard for the third period of a 5-0 Canadiens win)

….In his last six games against Detroit Alex Galchenyuk has 3 goals, two assists. All three were game winning goals; two of them in overtime last season.

….Andrew Shaw has 2 goals 2 assists in the last six Detroit games.

….All time Tomas Plekanec has 9 goals and 18 points in 23 career games vs. Detroit. Max Pacioretty with 9 goals and 15 points in 18 games and Alex Galchenyuk 5 goals and 12 points in 17 games.

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About the Canadiens –

….With Boston’s 3-0 win over Philadelphia, the Canadiens drop back to fourth in the Atlantic Division. Boston holds three games in hand going into this game.

….One week ago, www.sportsclubstats.com had the Canadiens with a 2.59% chance of making the playoffs. Since then the Canadiens have won 4 consecutive games and the website has elevated chances of a playoff berth to 14.42%.

….This will be the Canadiens fourth game in six nights. They have won the first three on Monday, Wednesday & Thursday. The Canadiens face a 4-in-6 situation only four times this season.

….With the Wednesday night win in Detroit, the Canadiens reached the .500 plateau for the first time since the season’s second game.

….After a three game losing streak the Canadiens have bounced back with points in five consecutive games including their current four game win streak (4-0-1)

….The last time the Canadiens won five in a row was March 23 to April 3rd of last season.

….Over the last four games the Canadiens goal differential has improved from minus-26 to minus-17. It is still the second worst in the Eastern Conference behind only Buffalo at minus-30.

…..Brendan Gallagher will be presented with the November Molson Cup before the game. Gallagher scored 8 goals during the month’s 15 games, the highest monthly goal total of his career. He also posted two assists.

….In his last 20 games Gallagher has produced 11 goals and 16 points. In the season’s first seven games he had a goal and assist (scored in the first two games followed by a 5 games without a point)

….Max Pacioretty ended a six game pointless streak with an assist on the empty net goal vs.Columbus. He now has a goal and three assists his last three games.

….Max Pacioretty ended a six game pointless streak an assist on the empty net goal vs.Columbus. He now has a goal and three assists his last three games.

….After 27 games last season Pacioretty had 8 goals. He was to finish with 35 goals. This season after 27 games he also has 8 goals – .an average of 0.296 goals per game. In his 28th game last season he scored 4 goals in the 10-1 Dec. 10h win over Colorado and in the season’s final 55 games scored 27 – .an average of 0.490 per game.

….On November 5th the Canadiens penalty killing units were ranked 29th in the league at 71.4%. In the thirteen games since the PK has risen to 7th ranked. (7/44 – 84.1%).

….Over the same stretch the Canadiens power play has slipped from 19th to 25th in the league (6/46 – 13.0%)

….Carey Price has a record on Saturday nights of 38-4-4 with a 1.81GAA, .940save% . His win % on Saturday night is .870. In non-Saturday night starts his win percentage is .524. (238-178-52)

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About the Red Wings –

….The Red Wings are winless in their last six games – 0-3-3. during their losing streak they have been outscored 26-13.

….Five of the Red Wings losses on the losing streak were at home, two in overtime.

….The Wings last road win was Nov. 6 in Vancouver. This is only their third road game since then.

….The Wings have given up at least four goals in five of the games in the six game losing streak. In their last seven games they have not scored more than three goals.

….The Red Wings rank 21st in the league in offense and 22nd on defense. Their power play is 7th ranked and penalty killing 23rd.

….Anthony Mantha has scored four goals in seven career games vs. the Canadiens including the first goal of his career. (March. 24, 2016) He’s the Wings leading goalscorer with 12. and with 22 points is tied with Dylan Larkin for the team scoring lead.

….Wings captain Henrik Zetterberg has now gone 19 games without a goal, the longest drought of his career. His last goal was Oct. 18th vs. Toronto. Over the 19 games he has 7 assists.

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Goaltending –

….In four starts since his return Carey Price has allowed 5 goals. He stopped 127 of 133 shots for a .954 save percentage and 1.25GAA.

….In 15 games this season Price has a 7-7-2 record with one shutout, a .902 save% and 3.07GAA.

….Career vs. Detroit Price is 11-4-1 with a 2.04GAA and .929 save%.

,,,,Petr Mrazek in 8 games this season is 2-3-1 with 1 shutout. 3.19 GAA and .901 save%.

]]>http://intentionaloffside.com/?feed=rss2&p=45193045193THE PLEKANEC LINE – Canadiens-6 Detroit-3 (Nov. 30, 2017)http://intentionaloffside.com/?p=45188
http://intentionaloffside.com/?p=45188#commentsFri, 01 Dec 2017 05:29:31 +0000http://intentionaloffside.com/?p=45188Let’s hear it for for the Tomas Plekanec line. Led by Brendan Gallagher they scored half of the Canadiens goals in the Canadiens 6-3 win in Detroit Thursday night.

For five years now, the line centred by Tomas Plekanec has been a dumping ground for slumping wingers. There have been seasons when Plekanec has had to play with as many as 20 different linemates. That lack of consistency had hurt his productivity, especially over the last three season as he crossed into his 30’s.

It was the same-old to start this season under Claude Julien. Through the first eight games at various times he started games with Charles Hudon, Artturi Lehkonen, Ales Hemsky, Paul Byron and Brendan Gallagher.

On October 20th in Anaheim the Canadiens were down 3-0 at the end of the first period and Julien decided to blow things up. Along with taking Max Pacioretty off the Drouin line for the first time he also put Charles Hudon and Brendan Gallagher together with Plekanec.

He must have seen something he liked. In the ensuing 18 games, while Julien has tinkered with all of his other lines, he’s left Plekanec/Gallagher/Hudon basically untouched. And for good reason. Quite simply night-in, night-out they have been the Canadiens best over the last six weeks. In 18 games together the line has scored 15 goals. Eleven of Gallagher’s 12 goals have come since the Anaheim game.

I’m going to close this with a note from the analytics people. Heading into the Detroit game the line had a 56.5% Corsi rating. Per 60 minutes of playing time they produce 34.9% scoring changes while allowing 21.94 against. Enough said.

BY THE NUMBERS

Gallagher produced 2 goals and an assist vs. the Wings; Hudon a goal and Plekanec two assists. Six points for the night. The line was plus-6. Plekanec won 15 of 21 faceoffs (71%). That includes 14 of 18 in the neutral and defensive zones. That is a productive night’s work.

MISSED THE WAKE-UP CALL

Carey Price won the game for the Canadiens in the first period. Gallagher deflected the puck in to open the scoring but then it was all Red Wings. The Canadiens, who arrived in their hotel rooms at 2:30 in the morning, had no legs. They were outshot 13-6. But more telling, the scoring chances were 11-2 in Detroit’s favour. Price let in two, one on a deflection off Victor Mete and another on screen shot with Justin Abdelkader completely blocking his view.

It could have been 5-1 at the end of the period. instead of 2-1. Price gave the Canadiens the chance to come back.

THE CAPTAIN HEATING UP

We’ve seen it all before. Max Pacioretty going through one of those frustrating offensive dry spells. Remember last season when he got to the 20th game of the season with only four goals and still wound up with 35 when it was over.

Pacioretty started to break out of it with the empty net assist against Columbus which ended a six game stretch of no points. Against the Wings he scored a goal and assist and now has 4 points in his last three games. At least it’s a start. With Shaw and Danault the line had six points.

ODD DECISION

I can understand Julien not wanting to break up his other lines to fill the void left by the Jonathan Drouin injury. But Jacob de la Rose centering the first line? That one raised some eyebrows. De la Rose last registered a point in an NHL game on February 16th 2016. It worked out after all. It was de la Rose’s hard work that led to what turned out to be the game winning goal when he dug the puck out of the corner moved out and then set up Alex Galchenyuk at the goalmouth. With de la Rose as their centre, Galchenyuk had four shots and Paul Byron three.

MOVING ON

The Canadiens are now in third place in the Atlantic Divison but let’s not get overly excited. The Bruins, who are one point behind them, have four games in hand. Still, it’s four wins in a row, which is a season high. The Canadiens will try to build on that at the Bell Centre Saturday night, the first of another five straight home games.